Wild Things make Boomers pay for error of their ways
The key inning in the Wild Things’ 5-4 victory over Schaumburg on Tuesday night at EQT Park should have been over long before it did conclude.
That’s because a towering popup on the infield – the kind Willie Stargell used to hit – that seemed to take minutes to come down, wasn’t caught, extended the third inning and led to four unearned runs for Washington.
The play, which was anything but routine, was the difference in the series-opening matchup of division leaders.
With the game scoreless in the bottom of the third and Schaumburg starter Eric Turner (3-1) retired the first two Washington hitters of the inning before Tyreque Reed laced a single to center field for Washington’s first hit of the game.
Andrew Czech followed with the towering popup on the left side of the infield and front of the basepath. Schaumburg third baseman Anthony Colarco, who was named the Frontier League Player of the Week earlier in the day, seemed to be under the ball for a long time, then moved to his left, stumbled and the ball glanced off his glove as he fell to the turf.
It was a break the Wild Things did not waste.
Wagner Lagrange followed with a line-drive, three-run homer to left field to begin the scoring. After Jeff Liquori drew a walk and stole second base, Ethan Wilder sliced an RBI double down the left-field line to give Washington a 4-0 lead. All four runs were unearned.
The inning had Schaumburg playing catch-up all night. The Boomers closed to within 4-3 in the fifth against Washington starter Zach Kirby (3-0), but he and three relievers finished off the win.
Rookie Andrew Herbert pitched the ninth inning for his first professional save. It didn’t come without some suspense. Schaumburg loaded the bases with two outs against Herbert and he hit Andrew Sojka with a pitch to force in a run and make it a 5-4 game.
Herbert ended the game as Kyle Fitzgerald was called out on strikes.
Washington pushed across an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth when Wilder doubled home Lagrange, who was hit by a pitch and stole second base.
Hector Garcia and Jacob McCaskey each pitched a scoreless inning of relief for Washington. They combined to strike out four of the six batters they faced.
Extra bases
The announced attendance was 554, the smallest ever for a Wild Things home game. The previous smallest crowd was 637 on July 5, 2022, a night when the New York Yankees were playing the Pirates at PNC Park. … It was Breast Cancer Awareness Night. The Wild Things wore light-pink jerseys that were auctioned with proceeds benefitting the American Cancer Society. … The first-base umpire was Kelly Dine, who is a fill-in umpire for the Frontier League. She is a native of Akron, Ohio, and was the first female umpire in the Big Ten Conference. She also works the Mid-American Conference. The Frontier League had one of its umpires injured over the weekend and Dine was called upon to take his place. She will be the home-plate umpire for tonight’s 6:05 game. … Prior to the game, Washington announced that it will re-sign lefthanded starting pitcher Kobe Foster, who will be playing a fourth season in Washington and is the franchise all-time leader in strikeouts. He will be the starting pitcher tonight. Foster had been playing in the Mexican League. … Washington also activated second baseman Sammy Infante off the injured list. To make room on the roster for Infante, the Wild Things released Brett Roberts, who was hititng .250 over 20 games. … Schaumburg second baseman Christian Fedko went 2-for-5 and has reached base in all 27 games he’s played. He is the son of former WPXI sportscaster John Fedko.